This is a curious story and the protagonist still around to narrate it. .....
Back in old days there weren't too many roads. Much of the business and visiting was done on foot and things ported on the back of ponies. Our village lay on the busy Kotdwar - Dogadda trail. The streaming of traders and other folks through this trail was a constant feature . In fact we had a shop at Chandkhal catering to these fellows needs. ..
Now the story is that this trail also had occasional travelers not quite humans. Sometime in the deep of a dark moon night villagers could see strange procession of grim looking people dressed in white floating over the Gadan and passing through the village with 'band bazaa' in full flow yet making no noise. These fellows were called 'Saids' and corrupted derivative of Saiyyads, a privileged caste Muslims supposed to be direct descendants of Prophet Mohammed. Some people say they were a band of fierce Muslim army out to conquer holy Hindu land of Garhwal but were foxed by wily Garhwalis who smothered them with stones raining from hills. The entire band perished and then reappeared as apparitions as told above.
This fellow who is still alive and tells the story with conviction says, one night he when he was 11 years old asked his mother to take him out so he can piss. His mother took him out and waited barely a couple meters away in a dark night. After sometime she called him out but there was no response, so yelled again but when there was still no response she made noise and woke up the village. The villagers went out in search of the missing child through the night but couldn't find him. Next day he was found some hundred odd meters away from the village under a peepul tree shivering from cold. When asked what happened, he said,
'I don't know some fellows in white took me away. I don't know if I was walking or just floating in air but we kept moving on and and on down the trail. Another pious fellow who was not part of the abductor's party kept constant pace with them testing their patience. Eventually the abductors relented and let go of him. This wise person took him to a well got him bathed and left him under the peepul tree.......
Folks say the pious fellows was 'Siddh Baba' village deity.
Back in old days there weren't too many roads. Much of the business and visiting was done on foot and things ported on the back of ponies. Our village lay on the busy Kotdwar - Dogadda trail. The streaming of traders and other folks through this trail was a constant feature . In fact we had a shop at Chandkhal catering to these fellows needs. ..
Now the story is that this trail also had occasional travelers not quite humans. Sometime in the deep of a dark moon night villagers could see strange procession of grim looking people dressed in white floating over the Gadan and passing through the village with 'band bazaa' in full flow yet making no noise. These fellows were called 'Saids' and corrupted derivative of Saiyyads, a privileged caste Muslims supposed to be direct descendants of Prophet Mohammed. Some people say they were a band of fierce Muslim army out to conquer holy Hindu land of Garhwal but were foxed by wily Garhwalis who smothered them with stones raining from hills. The entire band perished and then reappeared as apparitions as told above.
This fellow who is still alive and tells the story with conviction says, one night he when he was 11 years old asked his mother to take him out so he can piss. His mother took him out and waited barely a couple meters away in a dark night. After sometime she called him out but there was no response, so yelled again but when there was still no response she made noise and woke up the village. The villagers went out in search of the missing child through the night but couldn't find him. Next day he was found some hundred odd meters away from the village under a peepul tree shivering from cold. When asked what happened, he said,
'I don't know some fellows in white took me away. I don't know if I was walking or just floating in air but we kept moving on and and on down the trail. Another pious fellow who was not part of the abductor's party kept constant pace with them testing their patience. Eventually the abductors relented and let go of him. This wise person took him to a well got him bathed and left him under the peepul tree.......
Folks say the pious fellows was 'Siddh Baba' village deity.
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